The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) publishes USMLE performance data year after year, and the most recent information regarding the 2022 testing cycle is particularly interesting. Frankly, I’m not sure what to make of it, but performance on Step 1 is notably worse than years prior (e.g. 2021 compared to 2020; 2020 compared to 2019). I’m not sure if this is related to the pandemic, changes in the test itself, or some other factor. Here is the data.
Earlier this year, United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) administrators announced that, after a long process of consideration, Step 1 would be scored as pass/fail going forward. With the global pandemic and many systems in disarray, some students had been concerned that the plans might be delayed, but according to the USMLE, the transition to Step 1 pass/fail score reporting is on track to be implemented in January 2022. The USMLE is also considering some changes to Step 2CS, although the details of those modifications are not yet available to the general public.
Check out this piece about the details of the Step 1 scoring change.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
